“That would be your one flaw,” Grace agreed. “But we can work on it.”
“Sure,” Alex said. “But for now, may I buy you another drink?”
“You may.” Grace bobbed a curtsey. “So formal.”
“That’s me. Formal and distant.”
“Not so much now,” Grace pointed out as he led her back to their booth.
“True. Not so much now.”
Be careful,a small voice whispered.Grace is one of your best employees. Don’t let this get out of hand, or you might lose her.
But another voice replied that he and Grace were having a wonderful evening. It was the first time in years he’d felt thisalive, and he didn’t want it to end yet. From the way Grace was looking at him, and the way she’d asked him to stay, he knew she didn’t, either.
Alex had spent years helping people find love, but he’d never found it himself. Now, with Grace, he wondered if falling in love might feel just a little like this.
Slow down. She’s your employee.
“Grace,” Alex said as they sat. “I just want to say… I know you work for me, and if anything about this evening makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, please tell me.”
Grace met his eyes. “Thank you for saying that, but if anything,I’vebeen the one pushing for us to spend time together tonight.”
“Perhaps I should tell you, then, that if you weren’t my employee, I would have wanted to ask you out for a drink from the moment I met you,” Alex said.
“Is that so?” The corner of Grace’s mouth lifted. “In that case, this round is on you.”
“Fair enough,” Alex said.
He knew already that there would be consequences somewhere in the future. But for now, in this moment, the only thing he wanted was to be here with Grace, and she wanted that, too. That was enough.
It was more than enough.
It was heady, and breathless, and perfect. Just like Grace.
CHAPTER 8
GRACE
Grace didn’t want this night to end.
She knew she was probably barreling headfirst into a huge mistake. Going out for drinks with her boss was one thing, but flirting with him? Opening up to him about her life? Dancing with him while staring into those blue eyes of his? It was something very different.
Yet Grace couldn’t bring herself to care about the potential consequences. Talking to Alex, dancing with him, and hearing about his life felt great. For years, Grace had kept herself closed off, bottling up memories of her father like a precious resource that would slip away if she opened the lid even an inch. But now, she wanted to talk to Alex. She wanted to tell him things. She wanted to find out about him. She wanted to see who he was under the veneer he presented to people.
And more than any of that, she wanted him to kiss her.
So, Grace was ready to forget the consequences. At least for right now.
She and Alex were both on their third drink. They’d been sitting in their booth for hours, talking about everything and anything, from their families to their hopes for the future to their pet peeves to their childhood best friends. They found out that they’d both tried and failed at surfing, they both were a little chaotic in life but very organized at work, and they had both graduated with honors from college. Every piece of information about Alex was fascinating. The more she knew about him, the more she liked him. And Grace felt privileged to see beneath his distant exterior to the man he really was.
“Sorry, folks, but we’re about to close up,” their waitress said apologetically, startling them both out of a conversation about the best type of candy bar (Grace said anything with chocolate and nuts, but Alex was partial to minty flavors).
“Really?” Alex’s eyes widened. “But it can’t be past ten.”
“It’s almost one in the morning,” the waitress explained apologetically. “Sorry to disturb you.” She looked a little tired, but she still smiled at them.
“No, no, it’s just your job,” Grace said quickly. “Don’t worry about it. Thank you for everything.”
